A wonderful interview with the Director of Collaboration South Europe at Cisco who helped us outline an innovative panorama based on the fusion between physical reality and the virtual world. With a view, obviously, on the topics of A/V and IT…
It goes without saying that Cisco represents, given the company’s enormous experience, a privileged observation point on the topic in question. This is why we were very pleased to hear the detailed opinion of Michele Dalmazzoni, whom we reached for an interview. In Cisco Italy since 2010, with the acquisition of Tandberg Telecom, a company in which he was General Manager Italy & East Med Countries, Dalmazzoni has covered various roles and, today, is Director of Collaboration Southern Europe at Cisco.
C – Building Automation, Collaboration technologies and Artificial Intelligence: how do these themes come together, from your point of view?
MD – The central node is the integration between the physical space, the buildings and the environments found within them such as meeting rooms, auditoriums, training rooms, etc., and the virtual, hybrid world of Communication. Devices today allow the connection between the physical world and the virtual world even with complex interactions between groups of people. Not only that: some products on the market today can process Artificial Intelligence algorithms on site. There is already an AI that runs in the cloud, but for what happens in real time, such as meetings with remote participants or “extended” events between real and virtual, it is essential that there is no latency, therefore on-field mechanisms are needed, to so to speak. We also talk about Real Time Media Models: it is an AI application that allows you to create classic directions but with a virtual director, with a series of features such as automatic tracking that keeps the speaker at the center of the frame, or other functions and technologies refined ones that optimize the quality of the experience and the video.
The goal is that those connected remotely can truly participate and not just assist passively. With consumer technology, remote participants often struggle to understand what is happening in the meeting or event, and more often than not are unable to actually participate. To give an example, it’s like being at the third tier of San Siro: you can see the match, but it’s far away, where technology today even allows you to be on the pitch!
C – When we talk about Artificial Intelligence, therefore, are we necessarily talking about IoT?
MD – I would say yes, the devices I was talking about are also IoT devices, they have sensors on board that provide information on a number of parameters: environmental noise, air quality, number of people present, etc. Cisco, in addition to integrating third-party sensors, has its own line of sensors dedicated to collecting all this data, which flows into an IoT platform called Cisco Spaces, which creates a digital twin of the physical environment, as well as offering a series of services. You can see and book the meeting rooms, check the air quality in each one, you can “navigate” the spaces, check the temperatures of the rooms and so on. You can also act on the environments, for example by improving the air quality in a newly used room, controlling artificial lights, etc. All automations based on AI and machine learning that reside in our network, which becomes the heart of all the building services, both on the basis of the data provided by the sensors and on the basis of human decisions.
C – Is the network itself, therefore, the heart of the system?
MD – Exactly, the network supports and powers the devices. The energy discussion is also important. After the summer we will inaugurate our new office in Milan, with many interventions in this perspective, including entirely PoE lighting. The result will be a clear increase in energy efficiency, since losses due to AC/DC conversion are eliminated. Furthermore, you can always take advantage of the electricity produced by solar panels.
C – You are describing to us, in fact, a real transition. Where are we at currently?
MD – As with all transitions, it takes time. Think of the telephone exchanges of the past: they have nothing to do with VoIP, of which Cisco was also a pioneer! Let’s say that, in our opinion, there are some very strong drivers: the first is sustainability. A company that has various buildings must work on energy efficiency, because buildings represent a large expense item. Second: human resources, talents. Today the request for flexibility is imperative, the company must have physical spaces that allow people to decide where and how to work, managing their time. Offices must be hybrid and connected, allowing effective remote interactions: this will increasingly be a fundamental requirement. Finally, third: property owners will see the value of smart buildings increase dramatically!
C – A/V specialists and IT managers: are these two worlds that must and can converge?
MD – What’s more, they are two souls that coexist within our company, they are increasingly intertwined skills, two worlds that know each other well. There is already a good level of integration, but once the two worlds were separate, now they are increasingly integrated. Services, moreover, are increasingly converging on the IP network. In the pandemic phase we had the advent of platforms, now we are in a new phase in which the need is, rather, to combine the world of physical buildings with the world of those who work remotely, for which professional IoT solutions based on AI are needed. The world of platforms and the world of physical spaces, thanks to enterprise-level solutions, are increasingly connected.
